Shoulder pads for protecting the shoulder regions in contact sports such as football and hockey are well known in the art. Generally speaking, such shoulder pads include a harness arrangement which circumscribes the chest region for mounting a rounded shoulder pad assembly over each of the shoulders of the wearer. In many of these prior art shoulder pads, the padding assembly is formed from a plurality of rounded members which overlap around the contour of the shoulders, and are interconnected by means of multiple straps. Examples of such prior art shoulder pads are disclosed in Morgan U.S. Pat. No. 2,953,789, Bennett U.S. Pat. No. 3,127,614 and Mitchell U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,763.
Which such prior art shoulder pads are capable of protecting the joints of the shoulder region, the pad designs are not without shortcomings. For example, while the shoulder pads disclosed in Morgan U.S. Pat. No. 2,953,789 do provide a protective cover around both the acromioclavicular and glenohumeral joints, this shoulder pad is formed from multiple pads interconnected by means of a relatively rigid cantilever structure. Hence, the flexibility of these shoulder pads is limited, which is particularly disadvantageous in a contact sport such as hockey, where a great deal of omni-directional arm motion is required. Similarly, both the Bennett U.S. Pat. No. 3,127,614 and the Mitchell U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,763 disclose shoulder pads formed from a plurality of arcuate members which are interconnected by means of double or multiple strap joints. Consequently, omni-directional movement of the arm is impaired.
Still another shortcoming of prior art shoulder pads is the bulk and weight of the shoulder-protecting structural components they employ. Bulky and weighty pad components not only impair omni-directional movement of the shoulder, but also reduce both the speed and the agility of the athlete. This can be a substantial disadvantage in competitive sporting events involving professional athletes, where even a small diminishment in the speed and agility of the players can result in defeat.
Still another shortcoming associated with many other prior art shoulder pad designs is the lack of any special means to protect the relatively delicate acromioclavicular and glenohumeral joint. The acromioclavicular joint includes the upper region of the shoulder where the end of the collar bone, or clavical, joins with the top portion of the shoulder blade, or scapula. It is the most easily damaged of all the joint in the shoulder region, since the clavical is a bone having a relatively small cross section near its end, and since there is relatively little musclature surrounding the region where the terminus of the clavical engages the top of the scapula. While most prior art shoulder pads afford some amount of protective coverage over the acromioclavicular joint, many do not concentrate structural protection in this region, where it is needed most.
Clearly, there is a need for improved shoulder pads which affords a maximum amount of protection to the acromioclavicular joint without imposing any significant restraint on the arm movement of the wearer. Ideally, such a shoulder pad should include a minimal amount of bulk and weight, so that the wearer maintains his speed and agility out on the playing field. Finally, it would be desirable if such a shoulder pad provided protection to the clavical, glenohumeral joint, and the scapula by means of a lightweight and relatively inexpensive structure which was capable of conforming to a variety of individual physiognomies.